How to Use a Plant Identifier App – Step-by-Step Guide

Modern identifier apps can tell you the name of an unknown plant in seconds, without hours of research. However, you need to know how to use the plant identifier correctly to get the most accurate results. 

We’ll walk you through every stage of the ID process using the Botan app as an example, so you can recognize any plant instantly, on the very first try.

What Is a Plant Identifier App?

This is a mobile application designed to help users identify their plants within 3-10 seconds just by uploading a photo. The system connects to plant databases and AI to compare species and find the right match. Top apps give 98%+ accuracy. 

An app that identifies plants can and should be multifunctional. Best tools on the market also offer care tips after ID, instant disease diagnostics, expert help, environmental tools, and reminders.  

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How to Identify Plants with Your Phone – 6 Steps

The identification algorithm is quite similar across the top ID tools. We’ll take the Botan plant identifier as an example to cover the main steps. 

So, here’s how to identify plants with your phone using the app: 

1. Download the app. It’s available on Google Play and the App Store. 
2. Open Camera. The icon is right in the middle of the screen (bottom menu). 
3. Take or upload a photo. Allow access to the camera or upload a photo of your plant from your gallery. 
4. Wait a few seconds. The identification process may take 1 to 5 seconds. 
5. Review the ID result. You’ll see the exact species. The app has 98% accuracy, but still review it. 
6. Get your care tips. Scroll down the screen to see all environmental recommendations, care tips, and facts about the species, and set reminders if necessary. 

You can try Botan for free — just download the app and test it to see how it works in practice. The interface is fully intuitive, so you’ll hardly experience any difficulty.  

How to Take the Perfect Photo to Identify a Plant

Even the best plant identification apps can struggle with low-quality photos or photos where the distinctive elements are not clearly visible. Good photos, on the other hand, automatically increase accuracy. 

What to do:

1. Take a photo of one plant at a time. 
2. Ensure the background is plain (crop the photo if necessary).
3. Photograph your plant from the side, not from above. 
4. Get close — ensure only the plant is in focus. 
5. Capture leaves from the middle of the canopy.
6. Try to capture all distinctive elements: leaves, their attachment to the stem, flowers, fruits, and bark. 

What to avoid: 

1. Don’t use flash. 
2. Don’t shoot through a window. 
3. Don’t submit blurry photos. 
4. Don’t shoot in harsh, direct sunlight. 
5. Don’t use any filters. 

Also, allow access to your geolocation. That’s how you can speed up the process: the app will focus on species native to your region first. 

5 Common Mistakes When Identifying Plants Using an App

An app for identifying plants can make mistakes, and so can users. Here’s what to watch out for: 

1. Taking a photo at the wrong time of the year, for example, in winter, when there are no flowers or leaves. 
2. Relying on the app too much to make high-stakes decisions, for example, whether to eat a mushroom.
3. Photographing a very damaged or sick plant (unless you are using a Disease ID feature). 
4. Not double-checking the result, especially for hard-to-identify species, such as nearly all grasses. 
5. Not consulting a specialist when you have any doubts (of course, if the app offers this function). 

ID apps are not always 100% accurate, but they are continually improving. You can expect top tools to be effective — just keep the practical recommendations in mind to get the most out of the app. 

What Features Should a Good Plant ID App Have?

Users expect specific benefits from ID apps. Those include overall convenience, useful knowledge, and practical features:

There’s no need to search for a simple app to take a picture of a plant and identify it. Modern apps have much more to offer, so let’s see how they work in practice. 

Large Plant Database

The more species in the database, the more easily the system finds matches. These are not just pictures and basic descriptions. Information about each species includes pretty much everything: multiple images, distinctive features, growth-stage patterns, and more. 

Botan has over 30,000 plants and integrates with larger databases and AI for more accurate IDs, even beyond the initial range of species. 

Care Plan

The process doesn’t stop with identification. Once the species is identified, the app can provide you with a step-by-step care plan and environmental tools. 

For example, Botan provides comprehensive care information, a watering calculator, a light meter, and care reminders, so you never miss watering, repotting, or fertilizing. All advice is science-backed. 

Pest and Disease Identification

When something is wrong, the app can let you know the reason with a single tap. That’s Disease ID — one of the key tools. For example, if your Monstera has black spots, you can take a photo and learn whether it's heat damage, a fungal infection, or a bacterial infection, and get a step-by-step treatment guide. 

Pest ID works the same way. If you see pests or suspect they’re there, the app, like Botan, will analyze the symptoms and suggest an insecticide. 

Review Toxicity for Pets

With Botan, you’ll see the plant's toxicity status right after identification. It’s included in the Info section. Of course, the feature works for houseplants, too, but it’s especially useful when you come across unfamiliar wild plants. 

Chat with a Botanist

That’s the best feature an app can have. When you have any questions about the plant, care, fertilizer, or pretty much anything else, you can just open a live chat and connect with a botanist via the Botan system. There’s no need to submit the request via email and wait for 24-48 hours. 

How Plant Identification Works Behind the Scenes

The algorithm will largely depend on the app. Again, let’s take Botan as an example. 

What is this plant app based on? The answer is simple — it’s based on science and a lot of data. The app has 30,000+ species in its database, and when you upload a photo, it starts comparing your image to them. 

The system evaluates each potential match by dozens of criteria. For example, it doesn’t just consider the overall shape of the leaf; it also considers leaf structure, edges, surface, texture, arrangement on the stem, venation pattern, etc. 

If the system doesn’t find a match, it switches to AI mode and uses a specialized model to find the exact species. When it’s found, you get the plant's common and scientific names, care plan, and environmental tips.